Hache
/hætʃ/noun
An archaic English word for an axe, especially one used in heraldic or historical contexts.
Did you know?Hache entered English through Old French from a Frankish word related to the same Germanic family that produced English hatchet and hack.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*hapjō
“An axe or cutting tool; reconstructed ancestor of later Germanic forms.”
Early Medieval Period
Frankish
*happja
“An axe; the presumed Frankish source of the French word.”
9th–12th Century
Old French
hache
“An axe or battle-axe.”
Middle English
English
hache
“An axe, preserved as an archaic or specialized form.”
Modern English
English
hache
“An obsolete or historical term for an axe.”